Circular-knitting machine.



W. T. BARRATT.

CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 24. 1916.

Patented J une 26, 1917;

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W- T-BARRATT. CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED JULY 24, Isle.

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TED STATES AT WILLIAM 'r. BARRATT, 0F BENNINGTON, VERMONT, ssIeNoE T0 CHARLES s. KEI-IOE, ANNIEcOoPEE, AND ALEXANDER J. COOPER, EXEcU'roEs or CHARLES COOPER, DEcEAsED, LATE or BENNINGroN, VERMONT. Y

CIRCULAR-KNITTING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Batent. Patented June 26, 1917.

Original application filed February 11, 1916, Serial No. 77,782. Divided and this application filed July 24,

structure therefor and it is divided out of the application made by me entitled Gircular knitting machine, filed February 11, 1916, Ser. No. 77,782.

The object of the invention is to conserve the space around the outside of the knitting cylinder so that as chine, thus increasing the output of said ma: chine, and also to render the sinkerwheel device capable of ready adjustment relatively to the cylinder as a unit, including not only the sinker wheel and its rotary support but the spring and stop by which said sinker wheel is positioned relatively to the knitting machine and its needles, whereby said sinker wheel and the support and spring can be adjusted as one piece relatively to the needles of the lmitting machine and thus keep the relative location of the sinker wheel, the stop and the spring by which the slnker wheel is held against the stop unchanged,

The invention 1s an improvement upon the sinker wheel and supporting structure therefor disclosed in U .S. Letters Patent Nos. 917,989. and 1,003,085.

' The invention consists in the combination and arrangement of parts set forth in the following specificationv and particularly pointed out in the claims thereof.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure 1 is a'detail plan illustrating my wheel and stand in connection with a portion of the lower needle, cylinder and'bed-plate.

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation taken on line 2,2 of Figi '1. I Q a "Fig. 3isia front elevation of said-sinker wheel and standshowing the same in connection with the. upper and lower needle cylinders, the needles being omitted.

:- Like'nu'meralsrefer to like parts through- 4 out the several views ofthe. drawings many different feeds as possible may be introduced into one ma 1916. Serial No. 110,829.

In the drawings, 5 is the primary needle cylinder and 6 the secondary needle cylinder. 7 are the needles of the primary cyllnder and 8 the needles of the secondary needle cylinder. The primary needle cylinder 5 is fastened to a running ring 9 which is rotatable upon the lower bed-plate 10. Said running ring and primary needle cylinder are rotated by an annular gear 11 which is fast to the running ring 9 and is driven by a gear fast to a vertical shaft (not shown in the drawings). A reciprocatory motion is imparted, to the primary and secondary needles in a manner well known by means of'needle cams 39 and 410 which are fastened,

respectively, to the lower bed plate 10 and the, upper bed plate 13.

. The secondary cylinder 6 is fastened to a running ring 12 which is rotatably mounted in the upper bed plate 13 and has fastened to its upper face an annular gear 11 which is driven by a gear fast to said vertical shaft (not shown in the drawings).

In each of the feeds there is a rotary sinker wheel 15 which is substantially the same in construction as the sinker wheel illustrated in my U. S. Letters Patent No. 1,003,085. This sinker wheel is rotatably mountedupon a stud 16 which is fastened to a rocker frame 17 The rocker frame 17 is rotatably mounted upon a standard 18 fast to the lower bed-plate 10 by means of screws 19 which have screw-threaded engagement with the lower bed-plate 10 and project through slots 20 in the standard 18, whereby said standard is rendered adjustable upon the lowerbed-plate 10. It will be noted that the sinker wheel 15 is eccentric to the axis of the rocker frame 17. The sinker wheel 15 is provided with sinkers 21 which are slidable radially upon said sinker wheel and between the primary needles 7, movement being imparted to said sinkers by a cam 23.

A rotary motion is imparted to the sinker wheel 15 by a gear 21 fast thereto and mesh ing into the primary needles 7, whereby said gear is rotated.

' The rocker frame 17 has an arm 25 fast in operative position asillustrated in 1,

I position with relation tothe needles.

bears against a stop 27. Said stop also acts as a clamp and by means of screws 28 clamps one leg 29 of a U-shaped spring 30 to the standard 18. The other leg 31 of said U- shaped spring 30 is bent at its free end to form a V, one side 32 of said V bearing against the arm 25 and holding it against the stop 27 when the parts arein operative position, the other side 33 of said V bearing against the opposite side of said arm when holding the sinker wheel out of operative The base '34 of said Ushaped'fi'at spring bears against a stop-screw 35 whch has screwthreaded engagement with the stop 27 WVhen the parts are in the position illustrated in Fig. 1 "the sinkers are in operative l against the stop 27, with thesinker wheel relation to the needles of the primary cylinderand the sinker wheel is held yieldingly in'this position by-thespring'3'1 which bears against thearm'25 and holds said arm and'its sinkers in operative position rela-. tively to the needles of the primary needle cylinder. When, however, anything happens to prevent the free rotation of the i sinker wheel, such as the 'yarn bunching on the needles or the needles becoming bent, then the sinker wheel is moved in the same general direction as the portion ofthe needle cylinder'adj acent thereto andthe sinkers are moved out of operative position with relation to the needles, this operation being sub+ stantially'the same as described in my Pat-- ent No. 1,003,085, and asthe sinker wheel moves out ofoperative position relatively'to the needles. the leg 31 of the spring 30 is sprung outwardly by the arm25'until the portion 33 of said'fiat spring'contacts with the right hand side of the arm 25 (Fig. 1),

a when it will be'evident that said-arm 25 will be heldby said flat spring in such a position thatthesinker wheel will'be held out-of operative position relatively to the needles.

The stop-screw 35 supportstheflat spring 30 While the arm 25 is moving toward the left and past the V-shaped portion of the fiat spring; Otherwise said fiat spring would bend from the point where it is clamped between the'stop 27 and the standard 18, the whole end of said-spring swinging with the arm 25,"bu't as the'base 34 is supported against "the stop-screw 35, the action of said "flat spring, when the arm'25 is moved to the left (Fig. 1), is tospring outwardly away from the standard' 18 and allow the'arm 25 to pass "from one side-of the V-shaped portion'of said flat springto the other. By this construction alight and flexible flat spring can be'employed which will firmly hold the sinker wheel in position but yet will allow it to yield readily when there is a needle bent'or when a bunch ofyarn collects on the needles.

The sinker wheel "isthrown back into operative position by the operator who springs the leg v31 outwardly toallow the arm 25 to be pushed against 'thestop, 27, when the leg 31 of the flat'spri'ng'is released and assumes the position illustrated in Fig. 1 with the parts locked in position ready for operation. WVhen the sinker wheel is moved in the general direction of that portion of the needle cylinder adj acent' th ereto, the vertical portion 26 of the arm 25 will engage an No. 1,003,085, but it will be understood that when it is desired to-adjust thesinker'wheel circumferentially of the needle cylinders or in any direction in order to c'hange the location of the sinkers relatively to the needles and needle cams, the relative position of the sinker wheel and its sinkers to the stop-27 and the U spring 30 will not be changed, so

that said step, U spring and sinker wheel can all be moved as a unit keeping their relative positions to eac h other unchanged To adjust the sinker wheel circumferentially ofthe needle cylinders for the purposes hereinbe'fore set forth the screws 19 are loosened and the standard '18 moved to the desired-position, whereupon the screws 19"are again tightened to hold said-standard and the parts supportedwthereby-in position. I Y

Having thus-described my invention, what I claim and' desire by Letters Patent tosecure is:

1. A *knitting' machine havinggin' combination, a'needle'carrier with needles thereon, abed plate upon which said needle carrier is rotatably mounted, a standard adj ustably mounted-on said bed plate, a rocker frame pivoted to said standard, a sinker wheel equipped with sinker blades journaled to rotate upon said rocker frame and eccentric to the axisthereof and yielding means -fast to'said standard adapted to hold said rocker frame in 'position and preventthe same from rotating while said"sinke r blades .are :in operative engagement with said needles, whereby said sinker -wheel,: rocker frame and yielcling=means may besimultaneously adjusted' relatively to said needle carrier.

2. A knitting machine having, :in :combination, a needle carrier with=needles thereon, a bed plate upon which said'needle carrier is rotatably mounted, a standard adjustably mountedon'said bed plate, a rocker frame rotate upon saidrockerframe and eccentric to the axis thereof and yielding meansi fast to said standard adapted to hold said rocker frame in position and prevent the same from rotating while said sinker blades are in operative engagement with said needles,

mounted on said bed plate, a rocker frame pivoted on said standard, a sinker wheel equipped with sinker blades journaled to rotate upon said rocker frame and eccentric to the axis thereof, an arm on said rocker frame, a stop and a fiat spring on said standard, said spring being bent at its free end and adapted to bear against said arm upon opposite sides thereof alternately, whereby said arm may be held against said stop or out of contact therewith, whereby said sinker wheel, rocker frame and spring may be simultaneously adjusted relatively to said needle carrier.

4. A knitting machine having, in combination, a needle carrier with needles thereon, a bed plate upon which said needle carrier is rotatably mounted, a standard adjustably mounted on said bed plate, a rocker frame, pivoted on said standard, a sinker wheel equipped with sinker blades journaled to rotate upon said rocker frame and eccentric to the axis thereof, an arm on said rocker frame, a stop and a U-shaped flat spring, one leg of said U fastened to said standard, the other leg of said U being bent at its free end and adapted to bear against said arm upon opposite sides thereof alternately, whereby said frame may be held against said stop or out of contact therewith, whereby said sinker wheel, rocker frame and U- shaped flat spring may be simultaneously adjusted relatively to said needle carrier.

5. A knitting machine having, in combination, a needle carrier with needles thereon, a bed plate upon which said needle carrier is rotatably mounted, a standard adjustably mounted on said bed plate, a rocker frame pivoted on said standard, a sinker wheel equipped with sinker blades journaled to rotate upon said rocker frame and eccentric to the axis thereof, an arm on said rocker frame, a stop, a. U-shaped flat spring, one leg of said U fastened to said standard, the other leg of said U being bent at its free end and adapted to bear against said arm upon opposite sides thereof alternately, whereby said frame may be held against said stop or out of contact therewith, and a stationary stop arranged to engage the base of said U-shaped spring, whereby said sinker wheel, rocker frame, stop and U-shaped flat spring may be simultaneously adjusted rel atively to said needle carrier.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM T. BARRATT. Witnesses:

CHARLES S. KEHOE, ANNA M. KEEFE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0." 

